Normal is Boring
by sarin68
Summary: In a parallel dimension or universe or reality or whatever, there is a Heiwajima that has succeeded in being normal. But a certain Orihara doesn't like normal and is determined to ruin that for him, perhaps forever! Roppi/Tsuki; AU; yaoi (duh); DRRR! isn't mine; M for different kinds of violence; etc.
1. Chapter 1

Tsuki panted as he ran through the rain to reach his apartment. His bag was soaked but he was confident that the letters inside were safe from nature's attack. That made him smile but he didn't slow down until he reached an overhang that shielded him slightly from the rain. Without warning Tsuki felt a sudden push, sending him sprawling on the wet, hard ground.

"I am so sorry!" a high-pitched voice apologized. Tsuki looked up to see that a young woman, a foreigner by her appearance and accent, standing over him and saving his bag from becoming completely ruined. "I fix this, ok?" she asked, pointing at a huge rip in Tsuki's bag strap.

"Oh no, thanks though!" Tsuki laughed while getting back on his feet. "I did that a while ago when I was running from some scary dogs!"

She paused but then laughed along. "Why run from dogs?" she asked.

"I'm a delivery service," Tsuki answered, taking his bag back from her and giving it a once over to make sure it was ok. "I deliver letters for people so they get there before normal mail."

"But what about email?" she asked, looking at him like he was insane.

Tsuki shrugged. He had gotten that a lot before. "It's more romantic this way, though slow. I don't get a lot of customers but that's okay! It's more fun this way!"

She laughed and nodded. She was about to reply but her eyes fixed on something and she gasped. "Oh no! Your scarf!" She grabbed it and examined it more closely. His fall had damaged it some because it was an old scarf and so easy to rip. "I fix, yes?"

Tsuki hastily shook his head. "You don't need to, seriously! I can sew it back together at my apartment!"

"But mine is here," she said, gesturing to a door just two feet away. "It won't take long, promise!"

Tsuki smiled and accepted the offer humbly. She made some tea and the two of them got to talking, finding that they had a lot in common. Her name was Karen Jackson and she had recently moved in from America. She had gotten a job at a bakery her friend owned, but was not used to Ikebukuro's geography yet and got lost. She had been running home hastily when she had run into him.

"Good-bye Heiwajima-kun!" she said cheerfully as Tsuki left.

"Maybe I'll see you again," Tsuki smiled, waving but then running in the direction of his apartment.

This scenario wasn't new to him. He had often met random people on the street, gotten into conversation with them and parted as friends. Many people in Ikebukuro knew him, and so he was a source of information as well as a messenger. He knew a lot of random things and was probably the most knowledgeable person around who didn't have ties to yakuza or charge a small fortune.

Tsuki didn't charge much for his deliveries and was paid purely in tips for his information. As a result he couldn't afford an amazing apartment, but it was his home and he didn't care if people thought he was poor. He was happy and as long as that didn't change, anything was fine by him.

* * *

_Didn't realize until now that this is kinda like _You are My Loveprize in Viewfinder_... but that's kinda how their relationship is in my eyes. Well if you haven't read that manga you should! But either way, I hope you enjoy!_

_Okay, did change something in the past couple days? Submitting this with my chosen format was really tedious and annoying. It got rid of my dialog, made paragraphs after deleted dialog bold, and refused to let me italicize anything!_


	2. Chapter 2

Tsuki sighed as he watched the moon rise higher in the sky. He was short of cash at the moment and was desperate to make his rent. Some of his closer friends had offered to help him out but he refused, saying that he'd manage on his own like he always had. Karen was already buying him lunch on occasion, and another friend of his, Yahiko, had been tipping him generously for random information. He knew they were just being friendly but he didn't want to have to rely on others to get by.

As he was thinking, he stared at his feet. He figured he'd have to just accept their charity and start looking for an even cheaper place to live as a pair of expensive shoes entered his vision. He looked up at their owner slowly, not sure what to expect. Their owner was a scary looking black-haired guy but with his red fur-trimmed jacket hanging from his arms as if he couldn't decide if he was cold or not and decided to wear the jacket anyway.

"I don't have anything valuable!" Tsuki cried, throwing his arms in the air like some lame movie. "I swear!"

"Che!" the raven scoffed. "As if I'd rob you! No, I want you to deliver something for me."

Tsuki was taken aback but then he stood up hastily and beamed at the shorter man. "Really?! It would be my pleasure! What would you like me to deliver and when would you like it to arrive? Where am I going and–"

The man cut him off, pulling a blade out of his jacket and pointing it at Tsuki with an emotionless stare. "Don't talk," he stated. When Tsuki nodded he continued, "I wrote down the address on the box I'm giving you. You're going to deliver it before the night is over, and if you are late or look inside the box I will know and you will not like what will follow. Understand?"

Tsuki nodded. The man withdrew his blade and pulled a small box, 1' 3" by 7" by 5", from his jacket and handed it to the messenger. Tsuki looked at the box and made sure he knew where the address was. "There's no name," Tsuki pointed out as he put the box in his bag.

Roppi nodded. "No one else lives there."

"And who should I say it's from?" Tsuki asked, shrugging off the oddity like he had so many others.

"He'll know," the raven replied. "Now get going or I won't pay you."

Tsuki nodded and began running in the direction where the address was. He didn't look back at the man, but if he had he would've seen the man immediately pull out a phone and begin talking while staring after him.

Tsuki wasn't too familiar with the neighborhood, but his sense of direction was better than most and he had memorized maps for all over Ikebukuro. So he wasn't freaking out about being lost when he arrived at the right street but failed to see the right house. He glanced around and didn't see anyone so he started to look for a door with the right address. It took him a few minutes before he found it, the writing being faded and barely legible. Tsuki smiled and rang the bell.

"What d'ya want?"

Tsuki jumped as he heard the voice come from a nearby dark alley. He wasn't generally scared of other people or the dark, but being in a new neighborhood at three in the morning was a little unsettling, especially if you add that the man who spooked him was covered in scars.

"I-I have a delivery!" Tsuki answered, pulling his bag in front of him to get out the box.

"Oh do you now?" a voice behind him asked. This man, with dyed red hair and tattoos covering his arms, yanked his bag from him, breaking the strap as he did.

"No!" Tsuki gasped, reaching out to grab his bag back from the man.

The first man stopped him. He had approached Tsuki from behind and pulled the messenger into a full nelson. Tsuki tried to struggle but was unable to escape the shorter man's intense grip.

"Who's it from then?" the man with the box asked as he threw aside Tsuki's bag.

"He said you'd know," Tsuki answered. He was hoping that these were the intended recipients, because chances were that he'd never get the package back if they weren't, and so not get paid and end up moving and leaving all his friends.

"Hmmm." The man with the box opened it slowly as if he was afraid it would blow up. When he opened it he growled and threw it down onto the ground. "Bastard!" he shouted. "I'll kill 'im!"

"What is it Tetsu?" Tsuki's captor asked as he tightened his grip on Tsuki.

The man didn't answer but moved over to be right in Tsuki's face. "You tell me where to get your employer or I'll make you regret it!" he snarled.

"I d-don't—!" Tsuki began.

The man cut him off with a punch to his gut. Then another, and another and another. Tsuki was too weak to break the hold keeping him in place and so unable to avoid any of the hits. The man behind him let him fall after the fifth hit but then stomped on his face, not removing his foot and effectively keeping Tsuki from escaping.

"What's this for?" the man on Tsuki's face asked. "What'd he do?"

"Fucking delivered us Dai's hand!" the first attacker spat. "Wrapped in a fucking bow!"

The man on Tsuki's face lifted his foot only to slam it into the base of Tsuki's skull. The other man joined in, kicking at his gut and face. Tsuki tried to block with his arms but was unable to do so effectively. After he pulled himself into a fetal position their attacks disappeared and he started to hope they'd finally let him go.

The scarred man yanked him up by his hair. "Think this pretty-boy had anything to do with it?" he asked his partner, "or ya think he may be innocent?"

"No pleb gets involved with us without paying the price," the tattooed man replied. "Get rid of him. We'll deal with Orihara later."

He shoved Tsuki away and left. Tsuki remained still in a desperate attempt to look dead, but the scarred man wasn't buying it.

With a kick to Tsuki's face he laughed, "Guess it's not your day, huh?"

Tsuki blacked out and hoped that he'd wake up again.


	3. Chapter 3

Tsuki jerked awake, the images in his head being too frantic for him to sleep peacefully. He spat out water that filled his mouth and lungs, coughing to make room for the air his body needed. He gasped and breathed deeply as he tried to understand what had happened. His head and chest hurt, but besides that his entire body was numb.

"So you're not dead." Tsuki looked up to see the man who had hired him standing on a bridge. "I guess I need to pay you now."

Tsuki looked around and only now saw that he was on the shore of a river. His scarf was almost completely unraveled and his clothes were covered in mud. He stood up and suddenly his body was no longer numb. All at once his entire body hurt and he almost fell over from the piercing pain in his ribs.

Tsuki managed to climb up the bank and meet the man. He looked at the messenger once and said, "It took me all morning to track you down. You disappear really quickly, huh?"

Tsuki blinked but smiled. "Um, where exactly, is _here_?"

The man smirked and answered, "I'll let you figure that out. All I have to do is pay you, so I don't need to answer any dumb questions. Of course if you _had_ died then I wouldn't need to pay you."

Tsuki shivered as a cool breeze chilled him to the bone. He didn't register the implication that killing him had been on the other man's mind. All he cared about was drying off and sleeping in his warm bed.

The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a roll of cash. Handing it to Tsuki he said, "It's all there, so don't insult me by checking."

Tsuki hadn't even thought that he might have been cheated and accepted the money with a smile. He gathered up the unraveled remains of his scarf and made to leave before the raven stopped him.

"Damn it," he swore under his breath, "wait!"

Tsuki looked at him because he knew the other man would prefer it if he didn't ask what the problem was.

"Where are you staying?" the man asked, sounding like he was forcing himself.

"My apartment," Tsuki answered in a tone that made it clear he had no idea why this man was asking something so obvious.

The man laughed humorlessly. "Not anymore. That place is literally toast."

Tsuki's eyes widened and he took off running. He ignored the pain, ignored the obvious rudeness in cutting the conversation short, and ignored everything that got between him and his apartment. He was almost hit by a car twice and was hit by a bike once, but those incidences barely slowed him down. He only slowed to a stop when his apartment came into view. Nothing seemed out of place other than the crowd gathered outside the building. He recognized a lot of his neighbors and his friends in the crowd and started to believe what the man had told him. He walked to the building slowly, not sure if he wanted to know the details or not.

Karen was there and was the first to notice him approach. She cried out his name and ran to him, babbling too quickly in English for him to understand her. Yahiko was also there but he waited for Tsuki to come closer before approaching the shocked tenant.

"Where have you been all night?" he asked after a respectful length of time.

Tsuki stared up at the seemingly normal building. "On a job," he answered normally.

"You look horrible!" Karen finally said understandably. "What happened?"

"I got beat up," Tsuki answered just as quietly. "But what—?"

"We thought it was a prank gone wrong," Yahiko answered, "but I guess not. Who'd be so mad at you to do this?"

"What—?" Tsuki tried again.

"Everything was burned to crisps," Karen answered.

Tsuki wanted to cry but refused to while there were so many people were around. Instead his eyes watered and his voice grew rough as he asked, "Was anyone else's apartment damaged?"

Yahiko shook his head. "No, whoever it was clearly wanted no one but you, and to make that obvious. Do you think the guys that did it were the ones that did a number on you?"

Tsuki didn't answer. He couldn't understand what was going on or why this was all happening to him. It couldn't be karma, and his luck wasn't good enough to suddenly expect a string of bad luck. He never made any enemies, and he made a point to be friendly to everyone just in case. But… what if it _was_ those people who beat him up?

Another of his friends, Satou, pushed through the crowd to them. "Thank God!" he gasped while smiling at Tsuki. "Thought you were dead! Martin and I came to see what you were up to and saw smoke!"

Martin, Satou's partner, walked up awkwardly. He wasn't great at Japanese but understood it well enough to get by. He inclined his head towards the messenger which was his way of asking if Tsuki was alright.

Tsuki nodded. "I guess I'm worse than I thought…. Maybe…"

"I'm going to get the guys that did this!" Satou growled. He punched his fist to emphasize. "No one messes with my buddy and gets away with it!"

"Don't!" Tsuki begged. "You will only get yourself hurt!"

"Does that mean you know who did it?" Karen asked.

They all looked at the messenger expectantly. He smiled and waved his hands back and forth saying, "Oh I only have an idea! But I still don't want any of you to think you need to do anything about it!"

"Anyone who hurts you is asking for it," Satou snarled.

Martin put a hand on his shoulder and said calmly in English, "Don't do anything you'll regret."

"I won't regret getting vengeance for my boy!" Satou argued. "Those guys are going to get what's coming to them. Just tell me who they are Heiwajima, and I'll take care of 'em for you!"

Karen nodded. "Don't worry, Tsuki-kun. We can get them back for this!"

Yahiko cheered loudly, making the rest of the crowd turn to look at them. "LET'S GO!"

They all looked at Tsuki, remembering that he still refused to tell them who it was. Instead of pressing him, however, Karen gasped. "Work!" she called. "I must go! Call me!"

She ran off and the others all instinctively glanced at their watches. Yahiko swore and ran off saying he had a date and Martin whispered something about getting parts for his motorcycle before his favorite shop closed. So Satou was the only one remaining, but he was one of Tsuki's oldest friends and knew better than to press the messenger for any information he wasn't willing to give.

A few neighbors went up to Tsuki after a few minutes, now no longer put off by the crowd of friends around him, and gave their condolences. A couple that lived a floor above him offered to let him stay in their place until he found a new place. He refused the offer politely, not wanting to put them out.

"Want to stay with us?" Satou offered.

Tsuki shook his head. Martin and Satou were late-nighters like himself but spent the time partying and drinking. A downer like Tsuki would probably get in the way. "No thanks, I'll just get a hotel room or something for the night and look for places to stay tomorrow."

"How much dough you got on ya?" Satou asked.

Tsuki frowned. Looking through his pockets he realized that he had exactly nothing on him. All his money, credit cards, IDs and everything else even slightly useful had been in his bag which his attackers hadn't been kind enough to return.

Satou saw through his attempt to look strong. "You sure you don't want to stay with us?"

Tsuki shook his head and fought back tears.

"Have you seen the inside yet?" a calm voice asked as a man approached them from behind. "It's really well done. Absolutely nothing was salvageable, and very little was even recognizable."

Satou whirled around to yell at the guy but Tsuki turned around and stopped him. It was the raven who had given him the job that had resulted in this.

Satou glanced at Tsuki and then back at the arrogant-looking man. "Who the hell are you?" he spat.

The man lifted an eyebrow. "I don't tell my name to nobodies like you."

Tsuki was confused at why the raven would have followed him since he was the one who told Tsuki about the burned apartment in the first place. Then he remembered something and gasped. "You have to go!" he cried to the man.

Satou and the raven both looked at him with confused expressions.

"They know who you are!" Tsuki continued. "Those guys will probably do the same to your place! You have to hurry!"

Satou's eyes widened but the raven let out a bark of laughter. Now it was his turn to be stared at.

"You think those low-lifes know where I live?" he laughed without humor. "HA! You clearly don't think much of me, Heiwajima."

"But they knew your name!" Tsuki insisted. "They said they'd get Orihara after me!"

Satou inhaled sharply and spat at Tsuki, "Did you say Orihara?!"

The raven quietly watched him freak out and Tsuki react in confusion. "Yeah, what—"

Satou faced the raven and his face was full of fear. "Don't worry about us, Orihara-san! This is nothing! No need for anything hasty!"

The raven narrowed his eyes. "Your name's Satou, isn't it? The same Satou Inoue who used to work for the yakuza before going soft and pulling out?"

Satou took a step back. Tsuki looked at the raven closely. Few people knew about Satou's past. He always wore gloves so people couldn't see his fingers and always covered the tattoos he had on his back.

"But do not concern yourself," the raven continued. "I have merely come to offer my place for Heiwajima to stay. After all, it was my fault this all happened."

They both looked at Tsuki who didn't know how to react. The man seemed nice enough, but him knowing about Satou was strange. Also, Satou was giving him a pleading look that clearly told Tsuki not to take him up on the offer. But wouldn't that be rude? And he _was_ responsible to Tsuki losing his apartment…

"If you don't mind," Tsuki said slowly.


	4. Chapter 4

The raven led the way into his apartment full of purpose. Tsuki followed hesitantly, still not sure if he had made the right choice in coming with the strange man. Tsuki threw his jacket on his desk and yanked his shoes off gruffly.

"Home sweet home," the raven growled to himself.

Tsuki took his shoes off slowly and looked around. The apartment was insane! It was bigger than any of Tsuki's friend's places, had an amazing security system, looked spotless, and generally seemed like an apartment an actor would be living in.

"This is the spare bedroom," the raven said to Tsuki, cutting off his admiration.

Tsuki had to hurry over to where the man was standing in a doorway. This room was bigger than Tsuki's apartment, and definitely seemed more comfortable. The bed was queen-sized, there was also a couch that looked more relaxing than Tsuki's bed back home, a dresser big enough to hold two of Tsuki's and was just as perfect looking as the rest of the place.

"Wow!" Tsuki allowed himself. "Your place is amazing!"

The raven didn't acknowledge the compliment and left to go to the kitchen. Tsuki followed and watched the shorter man take food out to start cooking.

"I can do that!" Tsuki offered hurriedly running to the man's side. "It's the least I could do!"

The man eyed him and said, "No. I don't let other people cook for me."

Tsuki nodded and stepped back. As he watched the man work he said, "I still don't know your name..."

"Orihara," the raven said shortly.

"What about your first name?"

"I was unaware that we were on first name basis."

Tsuki hesitated. "But I don't like calling anyone by their last names... It seems so formal and impersonal…."

"Hachimenroppi," the man said quietly. "Hachimenroppi Orihara."

Tsuki brightened and grinned, knowing the man couldn't see it. "Can I call you Roppi-san then?"

"No."

"Aw, but you call me Tsuki…."

"Because you asked me to on our way here."

"Please?"

There was no reply as Roppi finished cooking. He took food for himself and went to sit down at his table. Tsuki had figured that he'd have to cook for himself but was pleasantly surprised at having been left half of the food Tsuki had made. He took it and joined Roppi happily.

The raven didn't look at him. Instead he seemed preoccupied with three of his phones. He had taken them out and was messaging people with two of them while reading a message on the third and eating.

"How can I pay you back for letting me stay here?" Tsuki asked after a long time had passed in complete silence.

"You're going to work for me, obviously," Roppi said without looking at him.

"But what would you like me to do?" Tsuki clarified, glad that they were talking again.

"By doing anything and everything I want you to," the raven said, raising an eyebrow at him as if expecting an objection. "I do not have anything for you to do at this very moment, but I am going out for some business."

He got up and moved to his desk. He yanked his jacket back on, pushing many papers off the desk and onto the floor as he did, and went back to the entrance.

"Oh," Roppi said after putting his shoes on but before leaving the apartment. "I fired my maid this morning, so there should be no one at the door besides me. If you let anyone in, even one of your stupid friends, or even talk to someone to let them know you're here, then you'll wish you had been burned along with your apartment."

He left on that pleasant note and Tsuki stared at the door as his footsteps faded away.

Tsuki spent the next half hour looking around the apartment. It all lived up to his expectations of perfection, except Roppi's bedroom was locked and so Tsuki was unable to see inside. But after those thirty minutes came and went, the time quickly slowed to a crawl as Tsuki waited for Roppi to return.

Roppi didn't have a TV or anything else to pass the time in his apartment. He obviously wasn't home very much. Tsuki didn't dare trying to get onto his computer but tried to think of something else to pass the time.

The lack of something distracting to occupy his thoughts made Tsuki think back to why he was in the strange apartment in the first place. Now he was completely broke, jobless due to losing his messenger bag, entirely reliant on his friends and Roppi-san, and 100% destitute. He shook his head to rid it of depressing thoughts and continued searching for something to concentrate on.

Eventually Tsuki's wandering eyes found the mess Roppi had made by his desk. The raven hadn't put his food stuff away either, but Tsuki had already cleared away that after finishing his own meal. Finally finding something to do, Tsuki began cleaning the apartment.

There was a surprising amount to do, having appeared perfect on first inspection: all of the high places needed dusting, dirty dishes had been hidden in a cupboard, dirt had accumulated under the rugs from likely being swept there, and the couches needed to be cleaned under the cushions. Roppi probably didn't notice since he had a maid doing all of it for him, but his maid must have been awfully lazy to do such a patchy job.

Roppi returned three hours later carrying some takeout with him.

"Welcome home!" Tsuki said cheerfully when he came to greet the other man.

Late, Roppi replied, "I'm back." He took his shoes off and threw them down before stomping to his computer where he paused. "You cleaned," he stated blankly.

Tsuki had moved to straighten Roppi's shoes and nodded. "Yep. Your maid must have been very lazy, so I just passed the time cleaning." Then he realized what Roppi must mean. "Oh! Was I not supposed to?! I didn't move anything or look at anything I'm not supposed to!"

Roppi fixed a look on him. Then he lifted an eyebrow and said, "You did surprising well."

Tsuki was taken aback by the praise. "You're not mad?" he asked for clarification.

Roppi glanced at his desk. "I hate maids who don't clean everything exactly as I want."

Tsuki smiled. "Then let me be the maid while you let me stay here. It's the least I can do."

Roppi nodded and then sat down at his desk, going straight to work.


	5. Chapter 5

"It's weird," Yahiko said while digging through the pile of cheap clothes. "Why can't you just stay with one of us?"

Tsuki didn't answer. He was holding up some shirts that would fit him to see if he liked them. Unfortunately his new budget allowed him only the cheapest to choose from, so they weren't comfortable and were generally ugly. Luckily he had lent Satou a lot of money in the past, so as soon as his friend began paying him back he was able to shop for necessities.

"You_ have_ to have heard of him before," Yahiko continued.

Tsuki shook his head. "Not before yesterday."

"Probably 'cause your sources know what's good for them," Satou grunted.

Tsuki smiled. The two of them had been very generous. Yahiko had bought him a cheap phone for them to stay in touch when he wasn't allowed to leave – Roppi didn't want him to be seen entering or leaving the apartment often – and Satou had paid him back with plenty of interest. Normally he wouldn't have accepted their obvious charity, but he justified it by promising to pay them back as soon as he was able to.

Today Tsuki had left the apartment early in the morning to take care of everything he needed. He had not told Roppi where he was going but hoped the man would be understanding. Satou met him and begged him to stay with someone else, but he had refused and instead asked for help getting back on his feet.

"Um… excuse me…" a small voice asked behind them. The three of them turned around and saw a little girl standing behind them, looking completely embarrassed and nervous.

"Yes?" Tsuki asked kindly, kneeling down to look at her closer to her eye level.

"Um…" she began. She glanced at her hands and messed with her fingers. She glanced at Tsuki but when she met his eyes he looked back at her hands.

"It's okay," Tsuki comforted her. "I'm not scary, am I?"

She shook her head and then blurted out, "A scary man asked me to give you this!" She thrust her hand at him and after he opened his hand to take whatever it was, dropped a key into his open palm.

Before she ran away Tsuki asked, "Was the man wearing a red fur-trimmed coat?"

She nodded and then ran back to where a group of her friends were waiting. He thanked her before her group of friends began giggling and made to leave.

"That bastard Orihara," Satou swore.

"For giving me a key?" Tsuki chuckled.

"For using that little girl to do it!" Satou argued. "Couldn't he have just given you one himself?!"

"I left before he was awake," the messenger reminded him. "Besides, it would be awkward to walk up to me with the two of you standing here just to give me a key."

"Less awkward than having a little girl do it," Yahiko muttered.

Tsuki nodded in acknowledgment and then went back to searching the clothes. He grabbed a couple that would fit and then went to buy them.

The other two didn't comment on how weird the clothes were. They had already tried paying for better clothes but Tsuki adamantly refused. They weren't comfortably wealthy, and despite being better off than him, Tsuki didn't want them to put themselves out helping him.

They walked together back to Yahiko's place where they ate some take-out and just generally hung out. Eventually they parted ways, Tsuki just lazing in the park because he was still sore from his beat down. The day was uneventful and he returned to Roppi-san's place.

Roppi-san wasn't there so he took the time before the raven returned to clean the apartment spotless. Because of his thorough work yesterday there wasn't much to do, but he enjoyed the little bit of work it gave him. It allowed him to convince himself that he wasn't being a bother to Roppi-san. At least Roppi allowed him to work off his debt, unlike his friends who insisted on him not needing to.

Eventually the owner of the apartment returned carrying a giant bag that was so tall it would've touched the ground if it hadn't been folded back on itself.

"Welcome home!" Tsuki said with a smile.

Roppi laid the bag out on the table and said, "Let me see what you bought shopping."

Tsuki was confused but obliged and brought out the clothes that he had gotten earlier with Satou and Yahiko. Roppi held up the two shirts before quickly bringing a lighter out and setting the two shirts aflame.

"What are you doing?!" Tsuki gasped as he tried to grab the shirts back in a futile attempt to save them.

Roppi threw the burning garments into his kitchen sink and said matter-of-factly, "No one associated with me will be seen wearing such ugly clothes."

"They're all I could afford!" Tsuki whined. What was he going to do for clothes if he had to live up to Roppi-san's standards?

"That's why I got you something," Roppi replied, motioning to the bag on the table.

Tsuki opened the bag and saw several expensive-looking butler uniforms.

"I didn't like the jackets that came with them," Roppi continued talking, "so I didn't get them. I don't care if you like them or not, you're going to wear them as long as you're staying here."

"In public too?" Tsuki asked, more for the idea of ruining their perfection than being seen in a servant's outfit by others.

"Of course," Roppi replied coldly. "I'm going to have you attend a meeting with me, so don't you dare ruin them. Of course I'll get more if you need them, but after these I expect to be compensated."

"I'll pay you for these!" Tsuki said quickly.

Roppi shook his head. "What moron pays for his own required uniform? Idiot."

Tsuki saw the kindness for what it was and smiled. "Thank you, Roppi-san."

"I told you to stop calling me that," Roppi growled as he avoided Tsuki's eyes. "I'm going to make dinner now."

Tsuki grabbed the bag and went to put the outfits in his room. It felt like Roppi had bought him a gift, and he planned on treasuring the uniforms as if they were just that.

"I'm tired of seeing your dumb clothes," Roppi called to him while he was still in his room, "so change into your uniform!"

Tsuki did as he was told and found a new white messenger bag at the bottom of the bag of uniforms. It was beautiful and new, perfect for continuing his messenger business. Roppi had clearly known he would need a new one and felt like being thoughtful. He hastily threw the strap over his shoulders where it belonged and returned to where the raven was waiting.

"Does it look okay?" he asked with a shy smile to get Roppi's attention.

The raven glanced at him, his eyes remaining on Tsuki for only a second before turning back to the food. "It's acceptable."

Tsuki beamed and decided that Roppi was nothing like Satou and Yahiko feared.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: I'm very sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Too many things in real life came up with school and social lives. I've also been busy with manga and anime, and other fanfictions. Please forgive me! I hope you enjoy the continuation. I'm trying to make it real enough to fit my favorite altered Shizuo and Izaya couple. As always, please review and tell me what you think!_

* * *

Tsuki kept his eyes closed stubbornly.

"Just look, you coward," Roppi-san said in something between and sigh and a growl.

Tsuki opened one eye for a fraction of a second before shutting it again.

"Want me to cut it all off?" Roppi offered. "That might do the trick."

Tsuki shook his head and then tried opening his eyes again. What he saw was so shocking that he shut them again in disbelief. Roppi stayed quiet, but the messenger knew that was worse than Roppi's biting comments. He kept his eyes open when he finally dared opening them again and forced himself to face the truth in front of him.

It had been two weeks since Roppi had started putting Tsuki to work. In that time Tsuki had been forced to all but give up his normal jobs in order to follow Roppi's orders. The raven was very demanding: making him get groceries but only from one store two hours from the apartment by subway, cleaning the house which had become much worse once Roppi realized that he no longer had to try to be clean, and doing every other little thing Roppi could think of. Once Tsuki had to go and catch fish for Roppi to use for something he refused to tell Tsuki about, but the fish had to be a certain breed and size for Roppi to accept it.

Tsuki of course didn't complain about any of it, and he didn't tell his friends about much because he knew they wouldn't be as disinclined to protest Roppi's treatment of him. But the latest order was different.

Roppi had commented that Tsuki would be great to use as an intelligence gatherer for his jobs if he looked scarier. He had told Tsuki to look scary but Tsuki couldn't even maintain a glare for longer than a second before giggling and ruining the look. So Roppi had compromised and settled on dying Tsuki's hair.

"It's not half-bad," Roppi said, the compliment meaning much more than it would have from anyone else.

Tsuki wanted to cry. His parents would kill him if they knew he had dyed his hair. Sure, it was for Roppi-san, but this was asking a lot. He thought it made him look scary, like a delinquent, and that all he needed was tattoos to look full-on yakuza.

As if reading his mind Roppi commented, "Tattoos would be a nice touch…" Tsuki glanced pitifully at the raven, making the other man smirk. "But that might be too much. No, this is good enough."

"Good enough for what?" Tsuki asked.

Roppi grinned widely. "You're going to help me get some pitiful humans to return a favor. They might be a little less afraid and more likely to pay me back if you are the one to request the favor."

Tsuki blinked at him. "But if it's just that then why'd I have to dye my hair blonde?"

"Because no one would believe you work for me otherwise," Roppi answered coldly. "You with that dumb smile of yours doesn't connect at all."

Tsuki smiled. Yahiko had said the exact same thing when he had finally accepted Tsuki working for Roppi. He still hated the situation but at least acknowledged that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Will I go on my own?" Tsuki asked nervously. He didn't want to mess up one of Roppi-san's business deals.

Roppi scoffed. "Of course not! You'd end up asking nicely or giving up when they refuse the first time. No, you'll be going with me so I can keep an eye on you. Oh, and take this." He tossed Tsuki a small object that the recent blonde discovered was a very expensive phone upon inspection. "I hate seeing that ugly phone that no-name gave you. Use this instead."

"His name's Yahiko," Tsuki said while taking out his borrowed phone from his pocket, "and he's my friend."

"Whatever," the raven said apathetically. "We're going now."

Tsuki followed on Roppi's heels. He was eager to see how his house-mate spent his time, never getting a complete answer on the few times he asked. They got on the train and stood by the door. Roppi completely ignored him, checking his phone instead of even looking at Tsuki. People glanced at the raven and his phone, with the no phone sign being on the window directly next to him, but they seemed too scared to comment about it.

"You're not supposed to use your phone on the train, Roppi-san," Tsuki whispered.

The raven glared at him and shut his phone. The new blonde smiled to himself but failed in hiding it very well. His smile seemed to irritate Roppi-san even more and so when it was their time to get off, he walked so quickly while pushing his way through the crowd that he almost left Tsuki behind.

"Don't leave me Roppi-san!" Tsuki cried desperately when he thought the raven had done just that.

"Stop calling me that!" the irritated raven spat, seeming to appear from nowhere next to him. "Just follow me and shut up!"

They left the train station in silence and continued on their way to wherever the meeting was. When they weren't risking being overheard Tsuki whispered, "Thank you for not leaving me behind, Roppi-san."

He didn't get a reply.


	7. Chapter 7

After the shakedown, Tsuki could only think of it as that because of how terrified the other party was, Roppi wanted to go straight back to the apartment. Instead Tsuki insisted on them getting dinner together, wanting to pay for it himself because of a job he had received recently. Roppi only agreed after three solid minutes of the new blonde begging.

Roppi got to choose the place because of his pickiness in who was allowed to cook for him. Tsuki was okay with anything but was pleasantly surprised when Roppi chose Russia Sushi.

"This is my favorite place to eat!" Tsuki cried happily upon entering. "The people are always so friendly and—"

Roppi rushed through the crowd and shoved his way to a booth all the way in the back. Tsuki had to be quiet just to follow him and not lose him in the crowd. Roppi sat in the far corner where no one would be able to see him, but Tsuki wanted to look around to see if he knew anyone there.

"No," Roppi answered before he could ask.

Tsuki nodded and accepted the inevitable. A man came to take their order and left. Roppi was quiet, staring at the wall and not seeming willing to hold a conversation.

"Thank you," Tsuki smiled.

Roppi glanced at him, asking a wordless question.

"Thank you for coming to eat with me. It's not lonely when you're around."

"Your friends would be insulted to hear you say that."

"Well, friends are good company too, but no one can replace Roppi-san."

Roppi looked away and didn't reply.

Their food came and they ate in silence. Normally Tsuki hated pauses in conversation and filled the silence with talking himself if no one else would, but silence with Roppi didn't feel empty. He smiled at the raven who ignored him and kept eating. Something about the raven just made him feel like he didn't need to fill the emptiness, as if it was already full.

"Let's go," Roppi said as soon as they were both done eating.

Tsuki paid quickly and then allowed himself to be pulled out of the crowded restaurant. Roppi had his hood on to hide his face from everyone. Tsuki didn't say anything until they were halfway home and alone in the deserted streets.

"Thanks again for going to dinner with me," Tsuki beamed.

"Stop thanking me you idiot," Roppi muttered.

"But I get the feeling that I should," the blonde justified. "You don't look like the type to normally go out with people, and I thought I should thank you for making the night special."

Roppi seemed to go stiff.

"Are you alright Roppi-san?"

"Go out?"

"Yeah?"

There was no reply besides Roppi hurrying faster and almost leaving Tsuki behind. The messenger didn't know what he had said to unsettle the raven but when he asked he got no answer. When they got home Roppi immediately retreated into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Tsuki frowned but returned his things to his room before starting to clean the house. It was the end of the week so it was time to wipe down the kitchen. He put on an apron and started cleaning. His thoughts danced around until they settled on a Disney movie scene where a girl sang while cleaning the house and he giggled at the image.

Not being able to resist he hummed along with the melody in his head and eventually sang along. He laughed at his own voice and stopped.


End file.
